Couldn't Resist...

(Don't forget the Celebrating Health Give Away !!!)

Couldn't resist... some more fabric for my stash !!!

Received them all yesterday !

I managed to find funds to treat myself to some more yummie fabrics !

These ones below are from Hawthorne Threads.

The way they built their website is awesome.

They ship super fast, have good prices and beautiful fabrics !

(Close up #1 )

(Close up #2)

My 2nd package came from Fabric Shack.

They ship fast, have good prices and a huge selection of fabrics.

They were so sweet and thoughtful and included some goodies for me :-D !

Butterscotch hard candy and hand quilting needles #12 made in Germany !

(Close up #1)

(Close up #2)

(Close up #3)

(Close up #4)

Aren't all of them beautiful ! As you can see, this time

I was drawn by flowery prints/patterns !

I already have some ideas for some of these but may not manifest

until I finish with the quilt. Some of the ideas involving some

of these super cute patterns I got at Wish Upon a Quilt not to long ago.

These patterns are from This and That by Sherri K. Falls.

They are affordable and packaged so attractively (folded to 4¼"x 5½" and

placed on a small plastic sleeve bag).

I already have 4 others on my wish list !

I also got a very nice Alvin translucent 24"x 36" self-healing cutting mat

from this online company. Competitive prices and fast shipping.

My old one is to small and already messed up since it was not self healing,

so it is all marked by the rotary cutter (which dulls the blade of the cutter).

I really don't like at all how cutting mats smell, it makes me sick... this one still smells :-( !
I wiped it with some warm water and soap it seemed to help a tiny bit.

Have you read the warning on the label of the green ones at the local craft store
that says something like:

'This product contains a product known to the State of California to cause cancer.'

Scary !!!

Yesterday was rainy and for some reason rainy days

in this household mean... baking days .. ;-D !

This time for dd, allergen free sugar cookies !

And last but not least ...

some vintage hand embroidery patterns for you from my personal collection..

... for kitty lovers ...

for puppy lovers...

Enjoy the rest of the week !

Will be back on the 1st to announce the giveaway winner !

You still have until the 30th of November to enter !!!

Preparing ...

**Giveaway edited in order to make participation simpler... check it out!**

Over the weekend I didn't do much in the handicrafts department

just started preparations for my upcoming winter project !

I like washing my fabrics by hand better and then putting them in the dryer.

I little less fraying than by machine. I didn't pinked the edges this time,

just 'cause of not feeling like it... ;-).

Now, thankfully I didn't wash the reds together with these above.

One of the reds bled color in the water the 3 times I washed and rinsed it

even though I added vinegar for setting the color on the 2nd hand rinse

it didn't work. So I'm not using this for the quilt.

After they were dry was time for ironing and cutting...

And more cutting !!!

Each time I cut a block I identified it with the block # on the back.

The picture doesn't show all the blocks but there are 9 different blocks that

repeat themselves, so the quilt will have a total of 22 blocks.

I plan to sew the blocks for each of the rows (5 rows) together soon and leave them

like that so it will be easier to do the hand embroidery and applique on them (which I

plan to do during winter) before sewing all the rows together.

Well that's all for now... I hope you are having a great weekend !

Oh... and remember to enter the Giveaway !!!

**Giveaway edited in order to make participation simpler... check it out!**

Celebrating Health Give Away !!! (Edited)

** I edited the post by making simpler how to participate**

My recent PET Scan results showed that everything is stable,

so no HL re-ocurrence... Yeahhhheee !!!

So I want to celebrate these good news here with y'all having a Give Away !

You have the chance to win:

1) A Tisket a Tasket Charm Pack Pattern for a tablemat ( finished size: 20½" x 20½")

that includes the following techniques: patchwork, quilting, applique.

2) Baskets of Flowers by Mary Engelbreit charm pack for Moda.

3) 4 skeins (7471/3223/4478/1402) of Presencia/Finca hand embroidery

floss/thread (made in Spain).

4) And a couple of surprise goodies.

This Giveaway is open Internationally !!!

To qualify you need to have a public blog and leave a comment under this post.*


I will disable comments on Monday 11/30/2009 at 7:00am US Eastern Time and announced

winner on Tuesday 12/1/2009 late afternoon !!!

** I edited the post by making simpler how to participate. I understand that for some blogging about a  health concern may not be easy and/or rather keep those subjects private. If you already followed the previous (blogging about a health issue),  just let me know in the comments and I will give you extra entries  :-) .**

Popular Needlework March 1967

Popular Needlework March 1967
Originally uploaded by My1stBambina !

Sometime ago, while at a thrift shop, I found a vintage needlework
magazine with these cute hand embroidery/stitchery patterns inside.
So here they are for you to use on your handicrafts projects !
Enjoy !!!

***Give away coming up soon***

Scones... MmMmMm !!!

This was yesterday's breakfast for hubby and I !

My friend from My Casa Bella shared a scone recipe with me

not to long ago and since the ingredients were at hand

what else to do on a rainy/windy day than scones... yum !

(Took some pictures of the process despite the day not being favorable for it.)

Cutting the cold butter into the dry ingredients.

Dough form and flattened ready to be...

... sliced and put in the oven.

And this was the final product !!!

The only variation I made to the original recipe was...

add the dry cranberries, a bit of orange extract,

 low fat yogurt instead of the sour cream and I used

double acting baking powder because that is what I have.

They were really yummie and will make them again !

I do need to improve the baking time and temperature.

But for my first time baking scones I think I did pretty good ;-).

Dd had her very own mini tea party but with allergen free brownies !

@@@

And before leaving ... isn't this beautiful ?

I think it is ! It is stiched/ hand embroidered on a hanky.

Bullion flowers, straight stitched leaves and blue flower and

stem stitch on the stems. It is not a vintage hanky but a pretty new one

from our trip to Tenerife, Canary Islands in Spain earlier this year.

@@@

Keep on the watch for the upcoming Celebrating Health giveaway sometime

next week !